La Farola Cafe – Upper Street

After a fantastic dining experience at Tuyo, Hackney we were eager to visit sister restaurant La Farola Cafe which, also under the guise of Chef Ricardo, offers a tapas menu to be marvelled. With the feel of a local hangout, La Farola leverages quality local and Spanish produce, bringing a taste of Espana to hungry diners on London’s Upper Street.

Although tempted by a whole host of Mediterranean infused yolk porn brunch options, the allure of the tapas menu proved too strong with standout dishes of Squid Ink Risotto and Iberico Pork Shoulder too good to resist. Add to this the Chargrilled Octopus (a Tuyo favourite!), the Jamon Croquetas and Grilled Baby Artichokes and we were left with no regrets, with some signs of food envy from surrounding diners.

Much like sister restaurant Tuyo, the plates were beautifully presented and highly instagramable from every angle. La Farola’s seasonal menu, designed to showcase the best organic ingredients, extends to dessert where we opted for an off-menu special of Poached Plums with Chocolate Ganache and Hazelnut Crumb. A real melt in the mouth dish that, washed down with a fresh double espresso, rounded off a moreish and indulgent meal.

Chef Ricardo’s creative flair and fierce attention to detail guarantees authentic must try dishes that we can’t wait to try again and again.

We were kindly hosted by the La Farola team, however as always all opinions expressed are independent and our own.